Freedom Walk: Mississippi or Bust

¡ Univ. Press of Mississippi
āχāĻŦ⧁āĻ•
254
āĻĒ⧃āĻˇā§āĻ āĻž
āĻŽā§‚āĻ˛ā§āϝāĻžāĻ‚āĻ•āύ āφ⧰⧁ āĻĒā§°ā§āϝāĻžāϞ⧋āϚāύāĻž āϏāĻ¤ā§āϝāĻžāĻĒāύ āϕ⧰āĻž āĻšā§‹ā§ąāĻž āύāĻžāχ  āĻ…āϧāĻŋāĻ• āϜāĻžāύāĻ•

āĻāχ āχāĻŦ⧁āĻ•āĻ–āύ⧰ āĻŦāĻŋāĻˇā§Ÿā§‡

In 1963, the streams of religious revival, racial strife, and cold-war politics were feeding the swelling river of social unrest in America. Marshaling massive forces, civil rights leaders were primed for a widescale attack on injustice in the South. By summer, the conflict rose to great intensity as Blacks and whites clashed in Birmingham.

Outside the massive drive, Bill Moore, a white mail carrier, had made his own assault a few months earlier. Jeered and assailed as he made a solitary civil rights march along the Deep South highways, he was ridiculed by racists as a “crazy man.” His well publicized purpose: to walk from Chattanooga to Jackson and hand-deliver a plea for racial tolerance to Ross Barnett, the staunchly segregationist governor of Mississippi. On April 23, on a highway near Attalla, Alabama, this lone crusader was shot dead.

Although he was not a nobly ideal figure handpicked by shapers of the movement, inadvertently he became one of its earliest martyrs and, until now, part of an overlooked chapter in the history of the civil rights movement.

Floyd Simpson, a grocer and a member of the Gadsden, Alabama chapter of the Ku Klux Koan, was charged with Moore's murder.

A week later, a white college student named Sam Shirah led five Black and five white volunteers into Alabama to finish Moore's walk. They were beaten and jailed. Four other attempts to complete the postman's quest were similarly stymied.

Moore had kept a journal that detailed his goal. Using it, along with interviews and extensive newspaper and newsreel reports, Mary Stanton has documented this phenomenal freedom walk as seen through the eyes of Moore, Shirah, and the gunman, the three protagonists.

Though all shared a deep love of the South, their strong feelings about who was entitled to walk its highways were in deadly conflict.

āϞāĻŋāĻ–āϕ⧰ āĻŦāĻŋāώāϝāĻŧ⧇

Mary Stanton, assistant public administrator of the town of Mamaroneck, New York, is author of From Selma to Sorrow: The Life and Death of Viola Lliuzzo. Her work has also appeared in Southern Exposure, Gulf South Historical Review, and Government Executive.

āĻāχ āχāĻŦ⧁āĻ•āĻ–āύāĻ• āĻŽā§‚āĻ˛ā§āϝāĻžāĻ‚āĻ•āύ āϕ⧰āĻ•

āφāĻŽāĻžāĻ• āφāĻĒā§‹āύāĻžā§° āĻŽāϤāĻžāĻŽāϤ āϜāύāĻžāĻ“āĻ•āĨ¤

āĻĒāĻĸāĻŧāĻžā§° āύāĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻĻ⧇āĻļāĻžā§ąāϞ⧀

āĻ¸ā§āĻŽāĻžā§°ā§āϟāĻĢ’āύ āφ⧰⧁ āĻŸā§‡āĻŦāϞ⧇āϟ
Android āφ⧰⧁ iPad/iPhoneā§° āĻŦāĻžāĻŦ⧇ Google Play Books āĻāĻĒāĻŸā§‹ āχāύāĻˇā§āϟāϞ āϕ⧰āĻ•āĨ¤ āχ āĻ¸ā§āĻŦāϝāĻŧāĻ‚āĻ•ā§āϰāĻŋāϝāĻŧāĻ­āĻžā§ąā§‡ āφāĻĒā§‹āύāĻžā§° āĻāĻ•āĻžāωāĻŖā§āϟ⧰ āϏ⧈āϤ⧇ āĻ›āĻŋāĻ‚āĻ• āĻšāϝāĻŧ āφ⧰⧁ āφāĻĒ⧁āύāĻŋ āϝ'āϤ⧇ āύāĻžāĻĨāĻžāĻ•āĻ• āϤ'āϤ⧇āχ āϕ⧋āύ⧋ āĻ…āĻĄāĻŋāĻ…'āĻŦ⧁āĻ• āĻ…āύāϞāĻžāχāύ āĻŦāĻž āĻ…āĻĢāϞāĻžāχāύāϤ āĻļ⧁āύāĻŋāĻŦāϞ⧈ āϏ⧁āĻŦāĻŋāϧāĻž āĻĻāĻŋāϝāĻŧ⧇āĨ¤
āϞ⧇āĻĒāϟāĻĒ āφ⧰⧁ āĻ•āĻŽā§āĻĒāĻŋāωāϟāĻžā§°
āφāĻĒ⧁āύāĻŋ āĻ•āĻŽā§āĻĒāĻŋāωāϟāĻžā§°ā§° ā§ąā§‡āĻŦ āĻŦā§āϰāĻžāωāϜāĻžā§° āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āϕ⧰āĻŋ Google PlayāϤ āĻ•āĻŋāύāĻž āĻ…āĻĄāĻŋāĻ…'āĻŦ⧁āĻ•āϏāĻŽā§‚āĻš āĻļ⧁āύāĻŋāĻŦ āĻĒāĻžā§°ā§‡āĨ¤
āχ-ā§°ā§€āĻĄāĻžā§° āφ⧰⧁ āĻ…āĻ¨ā§āϝ āĻĄāĻŋāĻ­āĻžāχāϚ
Kobo eReadersā§° āĻĻ⧰⧇ āχ-āϚāĻŋ⧟āĻžāρāĻšā§€ā§° āĻĄāĻŋāĻ­āĻžāχāϚāϏāĻŽā§‚āĻšāϤ āĻĒā§āĻŋāĻŦāϞ⧈, āφāĻĒ⧁āύāĻŋ āĻāϟāĻž āĻĢāĻžāχāϞ āĻĄāĻžāωāύāĻ˛â€™āĻĄ āϕ⧰āĻŋ āϏ⧇āχāĻŸā§‹ āφāĻĒā§‹āύāĻžā§° āĻĄāĻŋāĻ­āĻžāχāϚāϞ⧈ āĻ¸ā§āĻĨāĻžāύāĻžāĻ¨ā§āϤ⧰āĻŖ āϕ⧰āĻŋāĻŦ āϞāĻžāĻ—āĻŋāĻŦāĨ¤ āϏāĻŽā§°ā§āĻĨāĻŋāϤ āχ-ā§°āĻŋāĻĄāĻžā§°āϞ⧈ āĻĢāĻžāχāϞāĻŸā§‹ āϕ⧇āύ⧇āĻ•ā§ˆ āĻ¸ā§āĻĨāĻžāύāĻžāĻ¨ā§āϤ⧰ āϕ⧰āĻŋāĻŦ āϜāĻžāύāĻŋāĻŦāϞ⧈ āϏāĻšāĻžāϝāĻŧ āϕ⧇āĻ¨ā§āĻĻā§ā§°āϤ āĻĨāĻ•āĻž āϏāĻŦāĻŋāĻļ⧇āώ āύāĻŋā§°ā§āĻĻ⧇āĻļāĻžā§ąāϞ⧀ āϚāĻžāĻ“āĻ•āĨ¤